2. Here's a pressing question for you: We are in need of a new mattress. Does anyone have one of those incredibly expensive foam mattresses that aren't supposed to move if someone is a super light sleeper and gets woken up by someone else tossing and turning, and do they really work and are they really comfortable? I am a CHEAP mattress person so even if you say it is the best thing that ever happened to you, I might still hesitate to spend more than my first car on a bunch of foam.
3. Downton Abbey. Over for the season. It went too fast. I loved loved loved the ending scene though, with Matthew and Mary. That will carry me through till next season. And shouldn't Mad Men be starting up soon?
4. Yesterday I had a day when I made myself do all those little things I've been procrastinating for weeks. Most of them had to do with making appointments-everything from a tooth pulling appointment for Matthew, to a vaccination appointment for Sammy the dog. Returning phone calls, going to the post office, making a return at the store...ick. But it all weighs on my mind till I make a list and just get it over with and then I wonder what took me so long.
5. I love my new header. That is bragging I know. First I made monthly banners, and then I switched to seasonal banners, and then I decided to just stick with one and save myself time. I love making them-but just not on a time line. I couldn't put a winter photo in there, I just couldn't. I need light and bright. Aren't you so sick of me talking about how much I hate winter? I am. It's getting quite old.
92 comments:
Downton Abbey. Love it, love it, love it. Re-watched Season 1 with my husband as he's just recently been hooked. Might watch both Season 1 and 2 again soon.
Matresses are tough. No matter which one we've purchased (4 in 42+ years)it still takes almost a year to get used to it. Even if it's super-padded, extra-firm, orthopedic, recommended, and costly. They're hard to compare because manufcaturers give the same mattress a different name depending on the vendor. Much luck with this one.
I hate winter. I love Seaside, too. Along with Kiawah, Kaua'i, Hilton Head,etc. I'm a beach person.
Good luck on the mattress, I've bought two fairly expensive ones over the past ten years, they are foamy and comfy (I think) but after a time they start to sag. There are two very noticeable "ditches" where my husband and I sleep. I am just waiting on our three month old to grow large enough that he will have his own little indention in the middle so he doesn't roll into us when we have him in the bed...
As far as winter goes, what I wouldn't do for some sand between my toes and the eternal need for a large floppy hat and paparazzi dispelling shades.
We have a memory foam matress, love it, and my mother loves sleeping on our guest bed foam matress when she comes because she doesn't have her usual aches like at home. We bought them from Costco, so it was very affordable.
I don't envy you though...buying a matress is SO darn difficult...good luck!
Thanks for your blog....it's my favorite!
I've always been a fairly cheap mattress person too but my husband has always wanted a tempurpedic mattress so when we moved to Australia, I found a used one (called Tempur here) for $800 on Gumtree which is the equivalent of Craiglist in the US. We went to check it out and it was from a really clean home (mansion more like) and in great condition. My husband laid on it for 1 minute and said he wanted it and gave the lady a $400 deposit until we could come pick it up with a truck. We sleep so well on it. It is fantastic. Highly recommend. I think as we get older(!) we get a bit more sensitive to mattresses.
PS - They are about $5000 new here...not sure about the US. They also have to be on a solid base or a slat base with plywood over the top in order to prevent the tempur mattress from forming to the slats.
Oh my gosh I have that cover and article cut and pasted in my garden to do/sketch book!! Love that garden! And I to have a magazine fetish! When I was younger it was issues of Victoria. Now that I am older it is my issues of Yankee that I can't seem to part with! That is what under the bed storage is for!
I love your blog. I've never commented before. :) I love our mattress. My husband LOVES our mattress. When we got it 10 years ago we couldn't wake up the first three nights we slept on it because we were sleeping so soundly. It is a cheaper version of the Tempurpedic. The Tempurpedic is too hard for me. This one is a combo of sorts. We bought it at Relax the Back for $1,000. It is called the SupplePedic by Strobel. http://www.strobel.com/mattresses.htm
That said, we have pillowtop mattresses we bought at Costco (whatever was on coupon at the time) for our guest bedroom mattresses, and they feel great to me too.
And I forgot, just went mattress shopping yesterday. Same thing required. We shopped at 3 large competitive area furniture stores. Hands down Simmons Beauty rest line is the best middle of the road mattress out there. We looked from Stearns and Foster down to the regular old Sealy's. They have the individual coil wrap and high density coiling (this is for the movement issue you speak of) and they are the low end of the high ends..The perfectly priced middle. Now just firm, plush or pillow top? All the same price. Then the boxspring choice full or the low standing, because these mattresses are thick! You will need a running leap! Good luck and heed my advice...don't take all the kids with you when you go shopping like I did....! ;)
I think people either love memory foam mattresses or hate them. My dad worked for a furniture company for 20 years - first in sales, then as their web designer, so we got new mattresses often for his meeting sales goals or at a deep discount. I was that kid who took her own mattress to college. Not kidding. Needless to say, I'm super picky about my mattresses, and memory foam provided me with worse sleep than girl scout camping. My mom (in her 50s) has had hip joint pain since getting a memory foam mattress nearly a year ago, but my dad sleeps great on it. I strongly recommend going on an overnight date with your husband to a hotel that has that kind of mattress (we tried La Quinta Suites). Simply lying on it for a few minutes will not give you the same results as trying it out for a whole night. In my opinion $150 for a hotel date night with the hubby is cheap if it makes up your mind about spending thousands on a mattress you may or may not like. Good luck!
I loved the Matthew Mary scene. Incredibly beautiful! I saw on fb that Mad Men starts in 26 days. Love your new banner!
I second the idea that you should visit hotel chains that have those mattresses. My husband likes them better than I do but they are still something I would consider when we replace our current set. The biggest complaint I have heard is that they can get very hot to sleep on. My daughter has a three inch memory foam topper and I fnd it quite warm sometimes.
I never saw the cottage living magazine but now I'm going to start looking. I have some weekend time coming up where I planned to thrift a bit. I think I'll add that to my list.
I love your blog! I like the way you keep it all real.
I'm on bag 14;)
Love, love, love Cottage Living magazine and have kept all of them! I don't get a chance to go through them that often but I am going to pull a few out at a time and re-read them. I just heard that Domino is starting up again so maybe there's hope for Cottage Living - the best magazine ever!
And, yes, time for spring and more sun (although this winter in Boston has been wonderful so far). Time to head to the Cape!
I don't have any mattress advice, we just go middle of the road pillow top, but I have to say I love your banner! Super cute with the little backgrounds!
we are CHEAP mattress people as well..however, when we go to visit my SIL in VT. she has a tempurpedic and I swear it's the best night's sleep I've ever had. Someday we'll splurge!
Mad Men..March 25th woohoo!!
I would not buy a King Koil mattress, we bought one and it was terrible. The warranty allowed us to have a replacement mattress but it had the same problem.
Downton Abbey was great, I loved the Christmas episode. Mad Men is my all time favourite and it starts March 25th!
I like your new header.
We bought the Tempurpedic memory foam mattress with the pillow top over 4 years ago. It was expensive but as my husband says, we spend so any hours sleeping on it that you should buy quality and not for price. These are guaranteed for 25 years. If we keep it for 10 years it averages out to $400 a year or a little over $1.00 per night for a great night sleep. Good luck!
Downton and Mad Men...you really are a woman after my own heart. ;)
Hi Sarah,
We have a Tempurpedic and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!
Totally worth it and I swear we must say at least twice a month as we lay our heads down on our pillow (we have the pilloes too!)this was the best money we ever spent!!
Love your header too. Totally makes me want to re-do mine!!
have happy day sarah
We bought a tempurpedic last year. Worth every single cent.
Downton, sigh.
your header rocks. love the cheeriness (is that even a word?)you gave up new headers....i gave up blogging....still feel bad that i am too lazy to keep it up.
mattresses...i hear ya! we recently bought a mid-priced firm mattress and i put one of those foam toppers on it(not a huge commitment that way)...it felt cozy and comfortable but was really firm. it is working for us and didn't require us to mortgage the house!
mad men is starting late march...can't wait! downton abbey...a great way to pass the winter nights.
your header rocks. love the cheeriness (is that even a word?)you gave up new headers....i gave up blogging....still feel bad that i am too lazy to keep it up.
mattresses...i hear ya! we recently bought a mid-priced firm mattress and i put one of those foam toppers on it(not a huge commitment that way)...it felt cozy and comfortable but was really firm. it is working for us and didn't require us to mortgage the house!
mad men is starting late march...can't wait! downton abbey...a great way to pass the winter nights.
My grandparents have a tempurpedic after sleeping on one in a fancy hotel. They absolutely love it! My grandfather isn't one to drop huge $ unless he is sure about a purchase.
Spring will be here soon! I'm looking forward to hearing about your 40 bag update. It's motivating!
Cottage Living was just OK for me. I pulled hardly any tearsheets - that's my test. Loved Downton!
We bought our mattress (king size) about four years ago and I LOVE it! It's a Kingsdown Sleep to Live from Sleepy's and we ended up paying $1399 for it after some major negotiations. :) My side is soft and dh's is hard. You actually lay on the bed in the store and it tells you the best type for your body. Now if only buying a couch were that easy! :)
LOVED Cottage Living!!! I was giddy everytime I would get a new issue! I have saved my back issues and LOVE looking back through them! I've also bought stacks of them at consignment shops, so...No! You aren't the only one! :)
I miss that mag too! I also miss Country Home so much! My parents just bought a temper pedic mattress after their one from Sams just wasn't helping. They both have back issues so they needed to spend the money and get something that would not make it worse. They really like it so far. I will add that my cousin is a chiropractor and he owns one too and recommends them to his patients.
I loved, loved, loved, cottage living!!! I still have half of my issues and they aren't going anywhere!! :-) They had the best pictures, such nice articles, and they weren't bogged down with all the advertising crap like ALL the magazines on the shelf now are. I was just sick when they stopped publication.
As far as the mattress, my folks have the memory foam and they love it, and you can jump on one corner with a glass on the other without spilling. They've had it for quite a while now.
Wish I could have watched Downtown Abby, I kept forgetting when it came on....I'll have to try and catch reruns.
Happy Tuesday Sarah!
Hugs From Kansas,
Amber
I miss Cottage Living SO MUCH. It was--hands down--my favorite magazine. Perhaps we need to petition the publisher to bring it back? I currently get Southern Living and Country Living--and they're great, too--but they're no Cottage Living, now are they? ;)
mattresses - we JUST bought our first brand new one ourselves and though I was extremely hesitant -- I LOVE it and wonder why I waited so long!! ;) We laid on the foam ones for awhile in the store and found out we didn't like them. *That's what we were told and how we ended up making our decision: we went to mattress stores and spent about an hour (2 separate times) and laid on the mattresses, on our stomaches, backs, without our coats, etc and discovered we LOVED (& kept coming back to) a sealy plush posturepedic king size.(it was pretty decently priced for the frame, mattress and box springs in all honesty) It's not memory foam or pillow-top. BUT, it's perfect for me and my 6'7'' tall husband who gets up all the time at night.
My back feels awesome and I am officially that girl that says "I love my bed"
YOu should just check it out!!
Good luck!
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I loved reading the mattress comments because we are in the same boat. After 10 years of marriage, we need a new one! I would love to know the one you end up getting :)
I always say one of the best bachelor purchases my husband made was our Temperpedic mattress. It's got me through three pregnancies. You see I'm a back sleeper and side sleeping kills my hips. Not so with the Temperpedic. (I only know because we've stayed at people's houses while I was pregnant and always woke up achey.) I do know that my sister-in-law stayed in our bed and didn't like it but she had major back issues. If you have a relative or close friend with one you could ask to "housesit" and try it out. I love it though!
love the header too! it's full of cheer.
we got a tempurpedic when i was pregnant with #4. it is heaven. I loved it immediately. it is pretty firm as it doesn't have a pillow top, but my back hurts less (especially during pregnancy #5). We did get it for a super awesome deal from a furniture outlet so it definitely has been worth it for us.
The end of Downton was amazing!! I was so glad (though my husband still doesn't like Mary).
Love your new header!
I love the new header and totally empathize with your winter hatred. I was born and raised in Idaho where winter is often 8 months of the year. It is so life-draining. It is so hard to have a positive attitude and be upbeat when it's dark and dreary for sooooo long, especially with little ones around who just want to run and jump and play. Freezing temperatures and arctic winds make it nearly impossible to be outdoors for longer than 2 or 3 minutes. It's ridiculous really. This is my first winter away from Idaho and I am enjoying a Southern winter. It looks just like your springy pictures around here. I say this, not to boast, but rather to remind you that your spring is coming soon!!! If it is spring here now, it should be there within a month or so! :) Hold onto hope and look at lots of springy pictures and get some flowers in your kitchen window!!
"you've lived your life and I've lived mine...and now it's time to live them together" Ahhhhhhh! So sad that season 3 is still a long ways away. Glad you asked about the mattress~we are in the market for one too! We've had ours for 13 years, and it's time to invest in a new one, but dropping $5k on a mattress makes my stomach drop. Let me know what you decide!
We bought a memory foam mattresss off Ebay for a very reasonable price - I think about $300 for a queen size. It's two layers, probably 8 or 9 inches deep together, and we laid them over the box springs we had bought with our first mattress. The company we got them from had the word "Mountain" in their name. We've had it for at least 5 years and it is still wonderful, very comfy, very supportive.
I have also seen them on overstock.com for a very reasonable price. Most places have a return policy so you have a chance to decide if you want to keep it once you get it in your home.
Good luck!
I Love my foam mattress, my husband pulled the trigger I was very happy with my pillow top. I have to say it does get hot. However, all my little aches and pains have vanished.
Also, I love your header too. I love the pencils at the end. It's sunshine with routine, complete bliss.
Mattresses are all about personal preference. I heard the foam kind can be very comfortable, but they also are quite hot. We had an expensive mattress that had a little foam and a pillow top, and I hated it. You definitely couldn't feel the other person moving on the bed, but I just felt like I was sinking in and being swallowed up by my mattress. And then my back started to hurt. So now we have a cheaper, firmer mattress, and all is right in the world. But really, it's hard to take people's advice when it's such a personal thing.
Mattresses. They can change your life :) For our 10th anniversary my parents bought us a mattress. A fancy nancy one! A few weeks in, we realized it was too soft for us. (thankfully the store had a 45 day exchange policy - check for this... muy importante). We switched it for a much firmer one and I love it! I can't tell at all if he gets up at night and I am a super light sleeper.
We were looking in to one of those memory foam mattresses a few months ago and the guy selling them to us said if you are always warm/hot when you sleep, you will hate it (but we live in AZ, so pretty much we're always hot). My girlfriend bought one from Costco (they take anything back if you don"t like it receipt or not) and she ended up returning it after a week-she compared it to sleeping on wet sand. Good Luck!
Downton! My husband brings home ice cream and we savor each episode on iTunes in our pj's. It makes me laugh inwardly every time because it so goes against his manly personality. All I can figure is he's sympathetically pregnant too :). Funny but endearing!
Wow! Sometimes I feel like we are the same person when I read your blogs, haha! I, too am so sad that Downton Abbey is done for the season... I might have to start watching them all over again until season 3 starts.
And I had a crazy to-do list yesterday of the exact same tasks that are easy to do but I dread doing- vet, dentist, dmv, call to the insurance co., etc. etc. Isn't it crazy how these little things can weigh a person down? I love days like that though, when they are all said and done because I feel like 1. I accomplished a lot and 2. I know that today I have lots of weight-on-my-shoulders free time to spend with my kids where I can be truly present. :)
Thanks for the great read!
Oh, and a note on mattresses. My husband went to the doctor about a year ago complaining of a bad back and poor sleeping. His doc told him that his mattress was most likely too soft. He said pretty much everyone needs a firm mattress. And he also said that it's best to buy a mattress from a place that will let you try it out for a night or two before you're committed because your body will feel differently on it after sleeping for 8 hours and being truly relaxed and lying on it in a store for 10 mins. We ended up getting a firm mattress that has the individually wrapped coils to reduce the feel of your partner's movement and we love it. We are both sleeping a lot better! Good luck with your search! :)
I loved Cottage Living! I have about 9 issues of it and It's my favorite magazine ever. Last time I checked, eBay prices aren't too bad for back issues.
I got hooked on Downton Abbey and watched all of them in a few weeks. I'm eager to see what happens next season. I'm hoping Mr. Bates gets out of prison.
My parents bought a memory foam mattress 15-ish years ago and they love it. My dad no longer has shoulder pain while sleeping and my mom's hips don't hurt nearly as much.
Love your new header. It's so cheerful!
That love scene from Downton Abbbey has to go down as one of the best ever. Just gorgeous, and there is great chemistry between those two. I can't wait for season 3, and really hope that wedding goes off without a hitch (fat chance I know).
We have debated the expensive foam mattresses but then I found out how warm they are and decided no way. It reminds me of those horrible vinyl hospital mattresses and I fear I would sweat to death on them. We have a $500 Beautyrest set and it's lasted pretty well for ten years or so. We'll have to get some a new set sooner or later, but I'm fine with going the slightly cheaper route as no matter what they have to get replaced before long. And I'm cheap!
Love the header!
We just bought a new mattress and were going between a tempur-pedic and a regular bed. In the end, we got this one:
http://www.furniturerow.com/DenverMattressCo/Shulkerk-Evenloft-Plush-Mattress-Group--/Shulkerk-Evenloft-Plush-King-Mattress-Only/prod610182/
THE BEST CHOICE WE EVER MADE!
Seriously, I told my husband two nights ago that the best decisions we've ever made go in this order:
1. To get married to each other.
2. To have kids.
3. To buy this bed.
It was pricey but oh so comfy. I felt it was better than a Tempur-Pedic (but I know people who love their T-Ps, too).
We bought a tempurpedic a few weeks ago and i felt so sick over the price that we are sending it back. Part of the reason we are doing this is I found a site where people talked about getting the TP feeling for a lot less and recommended this site: http://www.sleepwarehouse.com/sensus5lbmemoryfoammattresstopper.aspx
According to the sleep forum, this is the exact same type of foam as tempurpedic, but much less expensive. it is a topper, but the sleep forum people then recommended putting it on a cheaper foam base. The top choice actually was a cheap bed from Walmart, this one: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Spa-Sensations-8-Memory-Foam-Mattress/12542633#rr
People call this combo the cheaperpedic, ha. :) We are awaiting our beds in the mail, so I can't tell you what we think yet (should be here in the next day or so) but we are excited. we like the feel of the tempurpedic, just not the price. sorry for the huge comment. :)
We are also looking for a new mattress. Loved our tempupedic for about 5 years, but then it started to breakdown. I couldn't sleep in it during my pregnancies...too hot, and surprisingly, hurt my hips. I'm almost tempted to buy 2 twins to meet dh's and my differing preferences, and then push them together....or, maybe go the sleep number route. We will definitely purchase from somewhere with a good return/ satisfaction policy, though.
I haven't commented here before, but do follow your blog and love your mothering style. I just had to give my opinion about the mattress options available. Last summer, I slept on a foam mattress for a week while we were visiting family. Maybe it was because I was 5 months pregnant, but I HATED that thing! It was super hard and made my hips hurt very bad. I dreaded going to bed each night and couldn't wait to get up in the morning. We have a sleep number bed that I LOVE. After sleeping on it for 3 years, I will never purchase any other mattress again!I am a cheap mattress girl and really fought my husband when he wanted to by the sleep number bed. It didn't take long for me to (secretly) realize it wasn't a waste of money. The best part is that I don't feel my husband move at night and I can adjust my side to be soft or firm. Good luck in your search :)
Love you, love your banner, love Downton, loved the ending!, love the sunshine (but love winter when it's white), don't really love our mattress but afraid to try one - my brother and wife got one and they say it's great. We tried a memory foam topper and had to return it because it smelled like we were sleeping on top of oil reserves.
Have you considered the sleep number bed? We bought it 10 years ago and it was the best purchase we ever made! We slept on a temperpediac on vacation last year and both my husband and I woke up with back and neck pain. My next door neighbor bought a tempur mattress and returned it a week later same problem. Honesty, we have never had a bad nights sleep since we purchased it.
I am cheap too, and when we priced them (we have a king) the price difference was minimal.
I heard we have to wait until winter 2013 to see season 3 of Dowton! But Shirley MacLaine is joining the cast as Cora's mother. Should be fantastic!
I LOVED Cottage Living and miss it so much! I had a subscription and saved every issue! We have a memory foam that is Berkshire Hathaway brand and we love it. My favorite thing is you can lay closer to the edge if need be and don't feel like you are falling off. I like you new banner!
I love your blog, and I am on the waiting list at the library for downtown abbey season 1. As far as mattresses go, I love shiffman matresses. They are handmade in NJ, and are the best mattress I have ever slept on. My sister has them and I had always slept well at her home, they are pricey but are worth the splurge. Also, they are sold in furniture stores, but wait until May as they usually have a sale that can save you quite alot.
We had to replace our mattress about a year ago and were really apprehensive about what to get and how much to pay (and a $3000 mattress was just NOT in our budget, no matter how great it was!)
We ended up buying a Sultan Fossing mattress from IKEA and we both absolutely LOVE it! It's a combo of memory foam, latex rubber, wool and silk. We both slept fantastic on it right from the very first night. I don't think I would like a 100% memory foam, but we both love this combo. It was also quite affordable at around $500 and has a 25 yr warranty. IKEA has a whole line of "Sultan" mattresses, they are all quite different, but "Fossing" was the miles-ahead winner for us (I should note that I'm not normally a jumping-up-and-down fan of IKEA, but some of their mattresses do seem to be an excellent value compared to what you can purchase elsewhere).
Yesterday must have been an official "anti-procrastination day", as I tackled a bunch of things I've been putting off for a while - including making a couple of appointments :)
I too would love a Tempur-Pedic mattress but the last time I was in the market for a mattress, they were way out of my price range. I ended up with a firm mattress from Ikea. It was a little too firm but I put a three inch memory foam topper on it and now it is heaven. I hate sleeping anywhere else. My husband also loves it. This was a great option that has worked for us. I still want a Tempur-Pedic and when we need a new mattress Tempur-Pedic is the one we will purchase.
P.S. I love your blog.
I don't know where you are located but if you have Original Mattress Factory, I really recommend them for chosing a mattress. Their prices are fair and business practice sound (cut out middle man, they don't have sales, just all-the-time reasonable prices) and they have both spring mattresses, all grades, and foam. (Not temperpeudic, but latex, which is middle of the road. We bought latex and are really happy with it - it's not as risky as the temper - not as temperature dependent or nearly as pricey). Anyway, you've got plenty of thoughts to sift through but if you have Original Mattress Factory - they are not high pressure sales so it's easy to stop by and try it. (we went back 3 times before we purchased)
We do not own the foam type. Recently shopped for them but since we live in the south, opted to not get it because we've heard they are very hot. And I'm a hot natured sleeper too!
Would love for you to look at the book titled Quiet by Susan Cain. Just curious where you fit on the introvert scale.
Love your blog and your seemingly infinite wisdom!
Oh boy, do I have a mattress for you!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CT37JW/ref=oh_o05_s00_i00_details
It's all memory foam and REALLY cheap, as far as mattresses go. Plus, with Amazon prime, you can get it delivered for FREE in 2 days.
As if all of that isn't enough, the best way I can describe how wonderful this mattress is - we bought it halfway through my second pregnancy and I slept every single night straight through the night until I delivered that baby. Now THAT is a mattress :)
(And two years later, it's still delightful. My husband and I long for it by the end of every vacation...seriously, best mattress ever)
I have a basket under my entryway church pew with old magazines that are my all time favorites that I just can't give up. One is from 1998! But I love it and so I keep it. Hit ebay, read them in the tub and enjoy. p.s. love your new banner too!
p.s. I invited you to my blog. I went private for awhile. You are sweet to leave comments every once in a while so I added you. join if you wish. www.gardenviewcottage.blogspot.com
I threw all of my old magazines away last week after reading your post about house love, lol. You inspired me to quit looking at all of those wonderful things in other houses and try to enjoy mine:)
I buy a cheap mattress and add a memory foam topper to it. Heck you could even just add the topper to your current mattress.
I also made procrastinating appt's yesterday! Including teeth pulling for my 9 year old and dog vaccinations for the pup. Both expensive and yuck!
Finally, I just found your blog recently and can not tell you how much I love it. I feel like it centers me every time I read it! I check everyday for a new post and have enjoyed going back thru your older posts. I am a mom of three who constantly grapples with the idea of 4. I think I want to be you<3
I am convinced. I have been hearing about this show forever and you sent little butterflies through my romantic heart with this picture. I am watching it!
Regarding a mattress...we do have a foam one, purchased through a company in the midwest that custom builds the top layer according to sleep habits. Our main reason for going with foam however is that I have a severe dust mite allergy! Since switching to foam and removing the carpet from our bedroom, I have not been sick with cold/sinus symptoms once! They do help with the issue of your partner tossing and turning a bit as well...not completely. And, if your partner snores, well...you are out of luck (mine does!). They are pricey, but for us it was so worth it.
I love your header as well. Just signed up on Picasa the other day. I was wondering what program you used to make yours as they always look fantastic.
And, I am right there with you...even though we've had a pretty mild winter, I am ready to get outdoors and breathe some fresh air!
About a mattress - you should check to see if there is a Jamison mattress dealer close to you. The Jamison brand is what the Marriott hotels use. The are foam mattresses but not memory foam. There is some movement transference but nothing compared to the awful spring mattresses. They are so well made (family company) but reasonably priced because they do not advertise. They sell almost strictly by word of mouth and that's saying a lot - they are that good. You won't find a negative review. Good luck!
I also loved Cottage Living and still have a lot of issues. I have switched to Country Living and like it very much! Lots of great ideas!!
Love Downton Abbey. The costumes, the accents, the house...sigh.
Downton fan here too! I can't wait for season 3 to begin.
We bought a Tempurpedic about 15 months ago. I still think it's the best money we've ever spent. We absolutely love it.
However, don't be fooled into thinking that your spouse can get out of bed and you'll never feel it. You probably won't notice any mattress movement but the movement of the covers might still wake you.
A lot of people complain about the bed being hotter. I'm the type that can't stand to be hot when I'm sleeping. The only thing I notice is that sometimes my feet feel clammy in the morning but I'm not hot. Our covers are probably a medium down. I need to have a little weight to my covers to feel comfortable.
Bottom line - we're frugal but the bed is not a regret.
Not sure where you live...but in the Chicago Suburbs there is a Macys clearance furniture store and a Carsons clearance furniture store. My husband and I were ready to spend over $5000 on a new mattress set at the regular Macys and went to the clearance Macys to look for a new headboard. We ended up finding the identical mattress (with some dirt on it, that I just washed off with a wet towel) and a mismatched boxspring. All for $350 including delivery!! Just because there was dirt on the mattress and it didn't have a matching boxspring, we saved so much $$. Might want to see if there is something similar by you.
My husband and I just bought a mattress, but consider this...good sleep is not just the result of a good mattress. It also results from proper sleep position! We tried out one of those beds with the adjustable frame that lifts head and feet. The sales guy put me and my husband in the "optimal sleep position" and we both turned and looked at each other and said "oh yeah!" We bought the base and LOVE it. We no longer sleep flat and it is SOOO MUCH BETTER! It takes a little getting used to, but it's great. At least test it out at the store!
We are not TV people, but heard such good things about Downton Abbey that we are now hooked and catching up, up to the middle of season 2 now.
We love our memory foam mattress (NovaForm by Sleep Innovations, purchased at Costco with a coupon - around $600 for a king - made in the US). We've had it for 6 months and it did take a bit to get used to it, but now we really like it and we don't feel the movements of the other person, which is a real bonus now that I am in late pregnancy.
I could not survive without my Temperpedic Cloud! The best purchase we have ever made!
I miss Cottage Living magazine. I was fooled a while ago into thinking it was back. Sadly discovered that they just re-released some issues as a special edition (more expensive). I wish I had saved some too. I used to read them over and over.
As for mattresses, we decided against the Tempurpedic, even though we love our Tempurpedic pillows. It just didn't feel right in the store when we tried it. We decided on a Stearns and Foster after trying way too many.
Last but not least, just told my husband how much I miss Downton Abbey. Not sure we can wait 'til next season.
We have a Novaform foam mattress from Costco and love it! Ordered online and delivered.
We bought our son a foam mattress from Sam's Club because we needed a twin which Costco didn't carry.
I would buy either one of these again, they are great and super reasonable. Just remember they don't come with a box spring. Good luck!
Cottage Living. Yes, LOVED. I think I have every single issue much to the chagrin of every single person who helps me move.
Mattress. I am devoted to Original Mattress Factory. So well made.
Header. Awesome.
i saved every issue of cottage living.
:)
i took that one to my local nursery and said "where are these hostas" and they had never seen them before. UGH.
i was so disappointed in them.
mad men starts march 25.
the countdown is on.
We stayed in a house on Cape Cod last summer that had an attic nook filled with 50 years of National Geographics. I was so sad when it only rained one day of our vacation because I didn't get a chance to read them all! Sorry about your Cottage Living regret...sometimes you don't know what you've got till it's gone. I totally think you should buy them if you can find them!
Love the header! I tried to emulate you when you did them monthly and had to throw in the towel after a year - I'm impressed that you kept it up as long as you did!
We've had the same Tempurpedic for 13 years. It's still fantastic. It was a little weird getting used to but I would definitely get another one. I'm a stomach sleeper and I love it.
Hey Sarah,
We use a temperpedic foam mattress TOPPER. It's AMAZING and we are now addicted and can't live without it. We got ours at Sam's or Cosco or something like that... the trick is you have to get the thicker, higher quality one (yes, more expensive). It needs to be 3-4 inches. I've seen them at 2 inches but have heard they don't last. The 4 inch ones are less than $200 at Cosco; sometimes they put them on sale. Can put them on top of a crummy/old/cheap mattress and it helps a lot. Plus would help you get used to the feeling and see if you wanted to spring for the full mattress.
Hope that helps!
I love your blog.
:) Emily
Hi Sarah, Downton Abbey finished here in the UK a long time ago and the gap has been filled by a really great series from the BBC called "Call the Midwife", as a Downton fan I think you may just like this if you can get it. It is set in 1957, East End London still suffering from the aftermath of WW2. The period detail is amazing, costumes sets and acting too. Based on a real life memoir it makes you glad you were lucky to have your babies with modern obstetrics. A real eye-opener, humorous and brilliantly written too.
Love the blog
Catherine
You have successfully gotten me hooked on Downton Abby. I've watched all of Season One twice now, and asked for DVD sets of both seasons for Mother's Day. But I DO have to say that I'm SOOO glad that I watched the Season Two finale last weekend, or your post would have ruined it for me! I procrastinated watching it - I didn't want it to be over. But I'm SO glad for Matthew and Mary! (What WOULD her life have been like if it hadn't been for Mr. Farouk???)
80 comments! Sorry, but cannot take the time to make sure I'm not redundant. I sleep on a $3,400 mattress that was to hopefully help my husband's back. Didn't do it. Two siblings have latex mattresses and they are much less expensive and the nicest, most comfortable, and quiet (as in I didn't feel my floppy husband even once!)beds I've slept on. I'm only sorry my mattress hasn't burned down so I could justify this new purchase.
Oh and D.A.!?!? Seriously, why does it being 'period' make me justify the soap opera? I love it. Just finished season 1 and waiting for 2 at the library. Ummm...
Foam mattress topper is my advice. We have an awful, hard mattress and spent about $150 on a memory foam mattress topper from Overstock. Best. Decision. We LOVE it. So we bought a cheap mattress, and then made it feel like a $5000 mattress for about $150. The key is to get a THICK one. We got a 4" foam topper, and ALL of it is foam. No down or quilted top, is key. It's got to be all foam and thick. You seriously won't regret it. We've had ours for 5 years now and we absolutely still love it. It does tear a bit with use and pill a bit, but for $150, I'm not crying over it. If it comes down to it, I'll spend that every 5 years! Good luck!
Oh, Cottage Living! I still have some old issues and love looking through them.
Downton!! (Sigh)
I'm in complete mourning that it's over. So much so that I'm about to rewatch the entire two seasons, and hope and pray it lasts a while.
I channeled all of my spare Downton energy into a "simple" diagram of how all of the characters are related...
http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/2012/02/downton-abbey-explained.html
Hope it helps you make it until Season 3!
I am getting sick of winter, too.
We JUST bought ourselves a memory foam mattress for Valentine's Day (romantic, aren't we?)...we tried the Tempurpedic and found ones that were just as comfortable for around $1000. I don't know about the getting woken up part, but I can say that it offers great support.
In 2008 we bought our first "nice" mattress. Okay, I'm lying it's beyond nice. It was not cheap, but we did get a really good deal on it. Sleeping well is serious business around these parts and I am going to tell you like a real friend, our mattress is the "bom-diggity". Haha! We didn't realize how bad our old one was, and it was only 9 years old at the time. But for the first year we didn't even want to stay away from home overnight! And we still to this day talk about if we will sleep well when we go out of town! Anyway, drumroll...we have a Kingsdown. www.kingsdown.com go to there website and check it out. I just put fresh sheets on today with lavendar spray and it's calling me now. Nitey-nite!
king size tempur-pedic was life changing for us! :-) they seem extra hot because a lot of times they also give you a mattress protector, but it's the mattress protector that makes them so hot. once we figured that out (we live in florida) we haven't had any trouble.
Cottage Living was by far my favorite magazine, and I have every. single. issue! My other magazines I throw away, rip out what I like, or stuff into basket, but my Cottage Living magazines are all neatly organized - and I have kept every one of them. And I look through them regularly - they never, ever go out of style.
Hi Sarah! I LOVED Cottage Living, & have kept most issues (much to the despair of my husband - we have moved them from VA, to CA to Japan to WA & back to CA. Go Navy!) The real reason I write is to say buy the good memory foam mattress. Don't go cheap - we did a knock off & regretted it within 2 years. Only 5 years after buying the knock off we bought the real deal - a Tempurpedic. We love it. I mean, absolutely love it.
Thanks so much for your blog. I always look forward to reading!
Enjoy the weekend.
Dang it! Now I know they're gonna get together!
We just started watching Downton Abbey on Netflix and are only on the 4th episode of Season 1. :)
YES, I LOVED Cottage Living!!! I imagine I have quite a few copies left. You are MUCH more organized than I am. This is my first visit to your blog, but it won't be my last. Need to adopt these organization/cleaning out skills. Now, as far as the mattress....save yourself lots of $$ and get that cheap mattress but go to your Sam's club and get a good memory foam topper to go on it in the right size. The good one at Sam's Club has the dense memory foam, but also has some kind of ventilation so it doesn't get too hot and has a cover for it. It's been HEAVENLY and we get better sleep than we ever have before!
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